Our Christmas Eve.
My favorite day of the year! Starting with a movie marathon camp out in the living room by the tree and breakfast in bed. We did our usual baking and food prep for an amazing seafood pasta dinner. It was the most relaxing day of our holiday vacation.
Lady loved Santa "Glamping"
Our "Eve" dinner. No mussels for the pregnant girl this year, we chose to do shrimp instead but R found an amazing Cajun seafood sauce recipe that was perfect for our meal.
Christmas Day.
We were spoiled - Santa was extra generous this year! We had the opportunity to spend time with both families, it was a long day but very festive. We went to my moms in the early morning for gifting and lunch. She made an amazing meal - seriously every delicious Southern food possible was on the table. We went to see R's family in the afternoon and as usual my mother in law had some amazing sweets dotted around the kitchen - I filled up on haystacks while we were there. Both families sent us home with mounds of food and we certainly didn't starve for the next week. We received some really nice gifts, and it was hard to pick a few favorites.
Festive Drinks.
So I've had an odd glass of eggnog and hot cocoa since Winter started but I was hoping for something a bit more fun over the holidays. We went to Total Wine to investigate some alcohol free options and purchased Ariel Cabernet and Ariel Chardonnay along with Fre Brut to try. R was a good sport about sampling it, though he had his own wine at home to enjoy. On Christmas Eve, I tried a spritzer "mocktail" with the Ariel Chardonnay, seltzer water, lime, and pomegranate seeds - it was a decent drink and very pretty in the glass. It felt fancy. The chardonnay has a fairly weak flavor, this would probably work better with a sweeter wine. I had a glass of the Cabernet with dinner, it has a much better flavor - more acidic and less sweet than grape juice but without the deep rich flavor of actual wine. I think if you really want something to bring to a party or if you are looking for something a bit more special to drink with dinner this would fit the bill. The Fre Brut was really good, a real treat! Both R and I toasted midnight on New Years Eve with a glass of this, we had real champs in the fridge and he chose to partake in my alcohol free version. I was expecting a pricey version of sparkling grape juice but I was pleasantly surprised at how close this tasted to a good sparkling wine. It would make a fine mocktail too, we plan to pick up another bottle for babymoon mimosas.
"Spring" Cleaning.
We toasted the new year and R went to bed so he could work on New Years Day. I took a couple of days vacation and started "nesting". This was the first year that I wanted the tree down and decorations put away so I could have a fresh, clean slate. After packing up the holiday madness I started a list with chores for each week until mid-March. I'm thinking a complete overhaul of our closets and cabinets with some organization is going to be necessary. I want to toss or donate items that we don't use and get rid of extra clutter. We also have to do seasonal chores - flip mattresses, shampoo carpets, dust fans, wash drapes, etc - I'm sure I won't have time once Baby Girl arrives and it would be nice to be able to get everything organized before she is here. It's actually my excuse for failing to blog lately, every afternoon I'm trying to mark tasks off the list.
New Years Goals.
- Obviously, household cleaning and organization.
- Finish the nursery.
- Prepare some freezer friendly meals.
- Write out a budget for the weeks I'm on maternity leave.
- Work on office organization and simplify my files so whoever is covering for me has an easy transition.
- Save money for two big household purchases that we hope to make later in the year.
I normally set goals specific to certain months but this year I'm giving myself a break. Since our lives are about to change big time with a little one, I don't want any additional pressure. I've been warned by friends that we will get on a groove eventually and flexibility will be key. Maybe one day, I can get back to "one book a month" or "exercise 3x per week" but I don't want to set myself up to fail by expecting too much of myself, too soon.
Thanks for sticking it through, I know this was a long post. I'm behind on my bumpdates and I plan to post my 27 week update soon. FYI -most of my ideas for upcoming posts are baby related, this is a lifestyle blog and right now that is the direction of my life. Hello 2015, I can't wait to see what you have planned for us!
And cheers to the lovely hostesses of the weekly Friday link-ups:
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